Dear anyone who wants to be a "creator" or "build an audience" in 2024. There's something you should know... Here are a few of the non-obvious lessons I've learned building a 500k+ followers & 100M+ downloads: #1 - WHO follows you is far more important than HOW MANY people follow you. YC tells founders "you'd rather have 1,000 customers who really love your product than 1,000,000 people who just kinda like it" I have similar advice for making content. WHO follows you is way more important than HOW MANY people follow. Followers & subscribers are the fake t*tties of content. They're a distraction. Ignore them. Would you rather have 1,000,000 people, chosen at random follow you? Or half of Fortune 500 ceo's love your work? You're not 'buliding an audience', you're actually building a 'magnet' which attracts a certain type of audience. Create the content that will attract the type of fan you want. #2 - You want to be "known well", not "well known" Fame is the wrong goal. You want a narrow set of people to know a lot about you. Become famous within your bubble. How do you become "known well"? You have to share stories, hopes, dreams, fears, & obsessions. Teach your audience the 5 D's: *Done - what have you done? what's your track record? *Deliver - what do you offer people who follow you? *Do - what do you do for work? for fun? *Dreams - what do you want outta life? (eg. Gary V wants to buy the Jets) *Dork Out - what are you really into? what do you collect? If you do this, you'll magically notice that the more content you create, the luckier you get. Your fans will know what articles to send you. What deals to invite you into. What concert tickets to give you. What introductions to make. #3 - OK that was a long answer- which reminds me. There's no such thing as too long, only 'too boring'. #4 - Don't worry about your writing style or production quality. A+ content with C- delivery is a great starting point. C- content with A+ delivery is a death trap. Don't waste hours on packaging. Spend years living an interesting life, so that you actually have something interesting to say. #5 - Create a binge bank Your content should be bingeable in a 1-3 hour sitting. Let people stumble down the rabbit hole of YOU. A lot of content will get no attention, until you finally break thru...and then your back catalog of content becomes super important. #6- The rule of 100 People ask @MrBeast for youtube advice. He tells them all the same thing: - everyone sucks at the beginning - make 100 videos - each time, try to make one thing better (eg. the hook, the thumbnail, etc.) By video 100, you won't need his advice. You'll be winning. Put in 100 focused reps before expecting results. #7 - Pick the platform that suits you Every platform works. Long form. shortform. text. video. podcasts. Don't tangle your brain trying to pick the "best" platform. They all work. Pick the one you enjoy doing. If you like writing, write. If you like short videos, do that. #8 - No matter what platform you pick, don't stop writing Writing is thinking. Good writing is good thinking. Writing is like a doctor's checkup for your brain. #9 - People don't want information, they want a feeling. Think of your channel as a little shop at the world's most crowded market. People don't follow you because of what you know. They follow you because of how you make them feel. Give them the feeling once or twice, you get a follow. Give them the feeling daily, you get a diehard fan. MrBeast makes people feel happy. James Clear sells the feeling of control over habits. Tony Robbins sells inspiration. Soul Cycle sells a satisfying sweat. Figure out what emotion you're selling, and then do it consistently. and lastly (and most importantly): the golden rule of life is "treat others the way you want to be treated" well, the golden rule of content "retweet @shaanvp the way you want to be retweeted!"